Qatar said it led the region in attacking what it called the roots of terrorism, giving young people hope through jobs, educating hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees and funding community programs to challenge extremist agendas.
Countries like Egypt, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia, in particular, whose names are often referred to along with radicalism, terrorism and coups, have begun to manipulate media to bring attention to Qatar. The conflagration erupted just weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia. Hopefully, it will be the beginning of the end of funding terrorism ... "Stop the killing", Trump told reporters in the Rose Garden of the White House in a joint news conference with the visiting Romanian President Klaus Johannis.
But efforts to defuse the worst crisis among Gulf Arabs for two decades showed no immediate progress.
Qatar has yet to receive any list of demands from the Arab countries that have cut ties, Sheikh Mohammed said. "They said they would take a hard line on funding", Trump tweeted on Tuesday.
"The [counter terrorist-financing] challenges they face aren't unique to them", said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash told Reuters there would be more curbs if necessary and said Qatar needed to make ironclad commitments to change what critics say is a policy on funding Islamist militants.
Kuwait's emir travelled to Qatar to help mediate an end to a crisis that's seen Arab nations cut ties to the energy-rich nation home to a major US military base, though Emirati officials warned there was "nothing to negotiate".
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The hearing brought four senior intelligence and law enforcement officials before the committee on Wednesday. NSA Director Rogers was equally not forthcoming and had tread cautiously in a escalated line of questioning.
The dispute represents a dilemma for the United States since Qatar hosts the largest US Air Force base in the region while Bahrain hosts the headquarters for the US Navy's Fifth Fleet.
Still, the Pentagon has been developing contingency plans in case there's any interruption, defense officials said. It added that a Turkish delegation would be going to Qatar in the coming days to assess the situation at the base, where around 90 Turkish soldiers are now based.
Qatar's foreign ministry thanked the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the British National Crime Agency for cooperating in the investigation, without elaborating.
In a surprise decision announced on Monday, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain effectively sealed the country off, forbidding their citizens from travelling to, residing in or passing through Qatar. Qatar's neighbors have also criticized Qatar for allegedly supporting groups like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. "The government of Qatar is in denial", said Gargash, accusing Qatar of being "the main champion of extremism and terrorism in the region".
"The emir of Qatar has made progress in halting financial support and expelling terrorist elements from his country, but he must do more and he must do it more quickly", Tillerson said.
Qatar is heavily dependent on food imports and the crisis has led to stockpiling and shortages. Erdogan, who has long tried to play the role of a regional power broker, said Ankara would do everything in its power to help end the regional crisis. Urging all sides to avoid further escalation of the conflict, Tillerson said the elements were available to resolve it. Doha denies these allegations.
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